Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In his commentary to Shade's poem Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) describes the Prince's cohabitation with Fleur de Fyler (the younger daughter of Countess de Fyler, Queen Blenda's lady-in-waiting) and mentions a rather kitschy prattle and the Prince's kamergrum (groom of the chamber):

In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962) speaks of his dead daughter and mentions the school pantomime in which she appeared as Mother Time (while other children of her age were cast as elves and fairies):

It was no use, no use. The prizes won

In French and history, no doubt, were fun;

At Christmas parties games were rough, no doubt,

And one shy little guest might be left out;

But let's be fair: while children of her age

Were cast as elves and fairies on the stage

In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962) speaks of his dead daughter and mentions the school pantomime in which she appeared as Mother Time:

It was no use, no use. The prizes won

In French and history, no doubt, were fun;

At Christmas parties games were rough, no doubt,

And one shy little guest might be left out;

But let's be fair: while children of her age

Were cast as elves and fairies on the stage

That she'd helped paint for the school pantomime,

In his commentary to Shade's poem Kinbote (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) often mentions Onhava, "the beautiful capital of Zembla" (Index). According to Kinbote, onhava-onhava means in Zemblan "far, far away:"

Describing Izumrudov's visit to Gradus (Shade's murderer) in Nice, Kinbote (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions a digestible (and even delicious) brand of paper used by macaroon makers: 

Just before they leave Zembla in a powerful motorboat, the King tells Odon (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, the world-famous actor and Zemblan patriot who helps the King to escape from Zembla) "I'm thirsty and hungry:" 

Describing the discovery of the secret passage leading from the Palace to the Royal Theater, Kinbote (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions two terrible voices, a man's and a woman's, now rising to a passionate pitch, now sinking to raucous undertones, exchanging insults in Gutnish as spoken by the fisherfolk of Western Zembla:

At the end of his Commentary to Shade's poem Kinbote (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) quotes a Zemblan saying Gut mag alkan, Pern dirstan (God makes hungry, the Devil thirsty):

According to Kinbote (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla), the eye of the mind sees Gradus (Shade's murderer), and the muscles of the mind feel him, as always streaking across the sky with black traveling bag in one hand and loosely folded umbrella in the other, in a sustained glide high over sea and land:

Lines 131-132: I was the shadow of the waxwing slain by feigned remoteness in the windowpane.

In his Commentary and Index to Shade's poem Kinbote (in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions the Bera Range and Bregberg (a city in Zembla):